If anyone is interested in getting a data acquisition system for their car, get in touch with me. I can offer great deals on AiM products. I can help you out with anything from a Solo that mounts on the windshield to a full dash setup with sensors on everything. I can also help with the analysis and understanding how to work with the program. Shoot me an email at matt @ TrailBrake.net.

Hey Matt I have checked out your website in the past and it is a great resource, thanks!

I have been wanting a lap timer/DL for some time now. I am an engineer at heart and by education; the more data points I have the happier I am. Through your site I have review a bunch of the currently available systems. The basic Solo gets me in the game at a great price but I have a hard time in my mind getting into a system that wont let me expand into data logging of engine systems and what not. Because of that I keep coming back to the XT Racing product line as the best bang for my buck.

What are your thoughts on this system vs the AIM Solo and the Traqmate system. Assuming I would like to spend under $700 to get started with data acquisition?

Regards,

Miguel

I'm interested too. I noticed your dash in another post. What kind of data can we get? Does it replace gauges? Laptimer too?
Shane

Data systems can provide gauge info. But the are really much more than that. They will actually improve your driving and show you how to improve it.

Matt is the expert here.

And I have found traqmate to have user friendly software for a beginner.

Most hardware from all the data companies is pretty good. There are differences in weather proofing, connector quality, and wiring that matter, but everyone's stuff works at least ok. AiM is very good that everything is waterproof and they use high quality connectors and wiring. The real difference in systems and what matters the most is the software. That is where the meat and potatoes is and where you will do your learning (and spend the most time).

AiM's software, called Race Studio 2, is very powerful. It's not quite as intuitive as Traqmate's, but it allows you to do some pretty neat things. You can add math channels, which are calculated from measured channels. The key to this is with some pretty easy math channels, you can find things like corner radius, look for early/late apexes, calculate g-sum to point out if you are using all of the tires abilities, etc. AiM also lets you take the GPS map and color it with a channels information, so you map speeds as color on a track map. You can also do things like lateral or longitudinal G, g-sum, or some others to visually see on the map what you were doing.

So, long answer to your question - for <$700, what system? You have to make some future decision - Do you / Will you want video with data overlaid? If so, the best way is a Solo DL ($700 retail + $35 for the mount) with a Smartycam HD ($999 retail). You can do this progressively adding the camera to the Solo DL later on. With the SmartyCam HD, you can add an RPM bridge and get that info in the data and on the video too.

If you want to add more sensors, then you have to do something like an MXL Pista or an Evo4 with or without a display. That pricing will range from $1,399 retail to the sky depending on what you want for sensors and display.




All of the AiM systems have a lap timer built in. The predictive lap timer in the Solo and Solo DL is amazing. It will give you a running lap time, your last lap time, a +/- based on your best lap, and/or a combination of those.

The data you get really depends on the system you go with and the sensors you install. With a 914, running a Solo or a Solo DL will give you lateral and longitudinal G force, speeds, air temp, gyro and a GPS map. If you go with one of the other logger products, you can then get RPM and any sensors you want to install. Those sensors can be things like steering, throttle position, brake pressures, shocks, and whatever else you can think of.

In my track car, I replaced the gauges, but that is up to you. A Solo or DL won't replace your gauges, but an MXL or Evo4 with G-Dash can. With an oil pressure and temp sensor, they will record those parameters and give you alarms if they exceed a preset number. The G-Dash will also do gear specific RPM limits!

Hopefully I answered everyone's questions. If there are more, please let me know. The regular Solo at $399 retail + $34 for the mount is an amazing setup for a 914. That will get people 80% of a $2000 system and give them everything they need to improve their driving.

I should have added too, if people need help with RS2, there are lots of resources to help and I can do screen sharing to help solve problems.

Thanks for your thoughts Matt. This line above is exactly where I start falling down the slippery slop. The SOLO will essentially solve my needs today. Then I start thinking of wanting to see slip angles and for that I would need an additional channel. It would also be nice to see RPMs. And I am sure there are one or two other inputs that I would eventually like to add. Before I know it I am at the $3K system which I can not afford.

Miguel

For driver improvement, the Solo is a great way to start. You are in the game for just over half you budget. Also, the resale on the Solo and Solo DL has been very strong, so you can recouperate most of your money. The Solo is also nice becuase you can easily put it in any car. It looks like you have a nice stable to move it around in and then it can also go in friend's cars.

Matt,
I did do some research last night on the MXL. Its cool everything you can keep track of. I assume the MXL and the SOLO can sync with cameras too? If I go MXL, is the Strata good enough? Why would I spend more money for the other two?
Oh and is race studio mac friendly?
Thats all I can think of right now.
Shane

The MXL and Solo DL will sync with the Smartycam directly, real time, so you jsut take the card out of the camera and have the data on it. With a program like Trackvision or Race Render, you can combine the data from any AiM product and a Go Pro or similar camera after the fact. The convenience factor of the Smartycam HD is worth the price.

The Strata does not record data, only displays it. You want an MXL Pista to record data in a track car. Depending on what you want for a display, the Evo4 w/ G-Dash is a killer deal and very powerful. The MXL2 and MXG are coming out in a month or so, which will add color displays and more memory along with some other advanced features.

RS2 does not have a Mac version. You have to run it through Parallels or similar.

Matt,

Whats the deal with file sharing? Do all the lap timers use proprietary encoding?

Two of the guys I race with and my driving coach use Traqmates. I would be nice to be able to compare data with them.

Regards,

Miguel

Every manufacturer uses it's own file type and you can not easily share files between systems. Most will let you export to a csv file, where you could do things in Excel or Matlab, but that would be very advanced.

The basics of how the data should look (brake traces, G-Forces, speeds) are the same regardless of system. A good coach should be able to show you things in the data regardless of the system. They might not be the best in navigating the software, but they should be able to help you out.

This is one of the cool things with the Solo. Because it mounts with a suction cup on the windshield (or it can be hard mounted), it's very easy to put it in someone else's car. You can see pro Jason Hart did just that in a 991 GT America in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXxFqcvCYrM

Interesting timing on this discussion as I just jumped into the fray on this as well. A couple years ago - before ripping my car apart again - I had bought a used Racepak G2X system and finally just finished installing it last night. Heading to the track Friday.

The G2X is a bit older technology but seems to have all kinds of capability as mentioned above, such as numerous sensor add-on capabilities, gear-specific shift lights, predictive lap timer, etc. Right now I have no add-on sensors but as-is it will pick-up GPS position, G's on both axes, speed, RPM, gear and obviously lap time. I have not looked at their software yet but it seems to be well-maintained at least -- an update just came out December 2013.

I'll let everyone know how it goes! I'm anxious to try some video overlay stuff as well as analyze my braking points and corner entry speeds where I know I can improve a bunch.

I downloaded the RS2 AIM software to play around with. It comes with some data but not of any track I know. Does anyone have some data they would not mind sharing of either Homestead or Sebring. It might make my exploration easier if I am looking at data from a track I am familiar with.

Regards,

Miguel

I'm working on getting you something from those tracks. I have files, but I can't share them.

I'll be at Sebring next week and Homestead the week after with Trans Am. Get in touch if you want to meet up at the track.

+1 for the AIM system.

Used a Racepak IQ3 for a few years but getting the data is such a pain.

After spending a weekend with the AIM guy for PCA Scrutineering, I immediately bought an AIM system (Sorry Matt, didn't know you had a deal going for us) and can say it is so much easier to get data.

Entry level system is the way to start!

No worries. That is one of the reasons I like AiM so much - ease of use. With a Solo, you only have to turn it on! It will start recording and turn itself off automatically. If you plug it into the cigarette lighter (or hard wire it) it will turn on and off automatically so you don't have to do anything! Same with a Smartycam HD!

Thanks Matt for the info. Looks like something I'll be interested in in the future. I'm going to Homestead on the March 1-2. Ill look for some cars that have it.
Shane

I thought since a lot of people haven't used data before, I would give a couple of screen shots from Race Studio 2 to show what you get and how you can use it. This data is from my 914 track car with an AiM SOLO.

This first graph is just a quick view of some of the things you can track (called measures). Here I did speed, corner radius, and braking G force (longitudinal G). From the shapes of these graphs you can tell if you are applying the brake well, turning in correctly, early/late apexing, and a bunch more. I also have the friction circle displayed along with a GPS track map showing exactly where you drove colored with the speed of the car. Using just this basic data, I've helped people take 4-5 seconds a lap off their time on a 1:25 long track.
Click to view attachment

This next chart is a review chart that you can make up. Here I calculated how many miles were driven during the session, how many miles you were on the brakes, maximum and minimum G forces, speeds, etc. This is a great way to watch how long tires and brakes last, how many miles you drove for part time out intervals, etc. Using a chart like this is also an easy way to see when you're G-forces start to go down and your tires are wearing out! You can do this (with more options) for any measure you want.
Click to view attachment

This final one is a comparison between two drivers. You can see they, well me and my co-driver, took different lines (also in the GPS map) and had different speeds. You can then compare what was faster or not. The graph on the bottom is the difference in time, so you can use the shape of that graph right away to pinpoint where one person was faster or slower. You don't have to compare against another driver either, you can compare your own laps from the same session or different sessions as well. You can also zoom in on the GPS map and see exactly how different the lines were in specific areas.
Click to view attachment


It's pretty amazing that 5 years ago this level of data probably cost over $2,000 and now you can do it for $400!

Matt,

without knowing which track and the topography its hard for me to read too much into the data....

but nice numbers
and the friction circle is impressive!
I wish mine was as good!

Thanks! Using the data, I've managed to go a full 2 seconds faster at the same track in 2 years without changing the car at all.

The track is NHMS. Nothing special other than close to home.

Thx Matt.

You picked one of these up Shane?

Miguel

Yes sir. You can check it out at Sebring if I make it. Worked on replacing my CV boots last night. Those things put up one serious fight!
I should still make it tough...

Motor is out on mine and I am still planning on making it I just got my oil cooling kit from Chris today. That and the accusump are getting fitted!!

Okay hijack off. I look forward to seeing the DA system you bought.

Miguel

Nice-Get to work!!

Glad you got it and I hope you make the event. Let me know if you have any problems or need some help analyzing the data.

Here's some track data from my AiM solo I bought from Matt. Its funny having hard data. I've always just analyzed my GoPro footage and that was awesome. This stuff is next level.
First pic
The blue line is my fastest time the first day and the orange is from the next event.
I went slower, I thought this tool was going to make me faster!!
So, not understanding how to read this i watched my GoPro footage and compared the info. From what I can gather I lengthened my braking zones in all corner, right?
I was running new tires and never seen, but a few times, a clean track. The old toyos, still in great shape, feel so good under the car. These new one were a little nervous.
Second pic
You tell me. I have no idea how to read a traction circle and if this is even one?
Something else about the AiM.
You turn in on and it knows where your at.
You can get the predictive lap timer going, super fun!
The battery lasted all day.
Didn't shut off because it was to hot either (stupid I-phone app)
Thats it everyone. Have a good Sunday.

Shane,

That screen your showing us is telling you that you were carrying more speed throughout most of the lap. Maybe Matt can tell you from the rest of the data why you were able to carry more speed. I can't, not from what's there anyway.

Email me some data and I will look it over Monday.

Miguel

Who knows Miguel? I've recently been told by the guys at BAT that when you run up the oil temp you lose HP. Didn't know that!
The slower of the two laps was at the end of a session. There's more traffic at a NASA event then a Chin event.

Here are a couple of notes on the data. Was the blue session in the morning (or cooler day) than than the orange session? The higher straight away speeds look like a hp difference.

Then notice your minimum corner speeds. They are significantly different and that is where a majority of your lap time difference is. The bottom graph is the time compare and shows when you were going slower by an upward sloped line and where you were faster by a downward sloped line. Notice how you lost time down each straight but were able to brake later and gained speed there (there is lots of time to be had braking properly!).

You have the friction circle correct, just deselect long G and you will lose the diagonal set of lines. Once you have it how you like it, use a profile (all the way on the right with measures, laps, profiles) to save the screen setup. Then you can go back and forth between your screens to see them how you like them.

Email me the file (right click on it in the session manager and choose email file) and I can take a deeper look for you.

Click to view attachment

Wow Matt thanks for the feedback. I'm going to spend more time figuring out what you posted tomorrow.
You were right.
The blue line was a cooler day.
There's also a tire change between those days. Blue line was RA1's that are basically slicks. The orange line was new RA1's.
I also had no idea what that bottom graph box was.
Check out this pic here. How did you set this track map up?
Thanks again. This thing is so cool. Can't wait to us it again.

The overall speed change was due to the cooler weather, then the later braking was due to the better tires. RA1s are usually good to the cords though.

For the colored GPS map, click the GPS button on the top menu bar. Then, on the left where the detail for the colors is, click on it and you can change what it puts in there (speed, long g, etc).

Thanks for all your help Matt! I got the AIM Evo4 and G-Dash unit configured and installed last weekend into the Chump Car 914. Sensors are on order and will be installed on the new VQ30DE-K engine before it goes in.

Thanks again Matt!
Andrew M

We have an AIM Solo - which will be a lot more fun when we can actually USE the car that it's sitting in (long, long, loooong story) but when I did use it, I found the most helpful thing WHILE DRIVING was the predictive lap (called ForeT for Forecasted Time). It's awesome. I went out trying different things at Road Atlanta, and you can instantly learn if that was a good change or bad - the ForeT would go up or down....I changed my shifting at 1 corner and it forecasted I would pick up 2 seconds....ultimately I picked up 5 seconds just experimenting - no data graphs, nothing, just looking at Forecasted Times.

Nadine has become facinated by data - spending time with some of the data pros at the races (Matt - do you know Ed Senf from Rum Bum Racing or Steve Taft from Magnus?). She spent time and has been emailing with Roger Cadell at AIM. She really wants to become a data expert....agian...it would be good if we had our car so she could start collecting data and learning. <sigh>

At some point, we're going to get a DL and maybe a Smartycam. Too hard to sync data and video with a GoPro. Would be nice if AIM made a bridge for the GoPro like Traqmate does!

Bob - you are right on with the predictive timing. I'm actually working on an article for Speed Secrets Weekly on that exact topic!

If you do the custom pages on the Solo, you can have it read a simple +/- readout. That way you know if you are ahead or behind you previous best lap without thinking about what is a good lap time. Since I have started using data in the car, I can't imagine driving without the predictive times!

I don't know those guys, but there are a fair number of data guys out there.

E-mailed the data. Be nice....

Well, I got some bummer news today - the Racepak G2x that I bought used a few years ago and never tried to use until recently was declared unsalvageable by Racepak's service folks. The said they circuitboard looked like it had gotten seriously wet and corroded. Not sure I even have the seller's info saved but I don't feel like I'd have much recourse with him after 3+ years of buying the friggen brick.

Sooo, I'll be hitting up Matt and the rest of you for a new system and some advice later in the year. First I've gotta get the bank account back above water after a nauseatingly expensive last 6 months.

What a bummer! When you are ready, let's talk and I'll give you a great deal.

I hear you on an expensive year. I'm in the middle of a transmission and motor rebuild on the 914, just put a turbo in the MINI, and rebuilt the rear end of the Suburban. That is over $10k in car expenses this year!

Thanks Matt! LOL, I wish I could say I had only spent $10K on car stuff this year... Plus on top of way too much car stuff we have been pouring a bunch of $$$$$ into our house including a full re-roof. Makes me wanna but the end is in sight.

Interestingly my G2X box still functions enough to drive the dash (lap timer, tach, speedo) but it will not collect data. I'll use it as a lap timer for the next event or two then get in touch with you to start collecting and using some data!